The Eternal Flame

The Kumano Brush Festival

---

September 23rd 2005
Kumano is a small town of about 25 000 people, located about an hour away from Hiroshima City. In this small town, 80% of all calligraphy brushes in Japan are produced. Every year, the town has a brush festival, in which people go to "honour" old brushes and calligraphy is demonstrated. I originally found out about this festival from one of my students, who is from Kumano, and was doing a spe ... read more

Asia » Japan » Hiroshima

---

In 1603, a Tokugawa shogunate (military dictatorship) ushered in a long period of isolation from foreign influence in order to secure its power. For 250 years this policy enabled Japan to enjoy stability and a flowering of its indigenous culture. Fol... ... read more